Call to Arms
by EmonyDeborah
Summary: Helen Parr just wants to live her life, the life she and her husband have built without magic, but a late night visitor may tear it all apart.


Helen wrapped up the last of the chicken casserole and put it in the fridge. She, Bob, Dash and Jack-Jack had just finished dinner, and Helen was cleaning the kitchen while Bob got the boys ready for bed. She turned to the mound of dishes that waited for her, and felt her wand shifting in her boot and digging into her ankle as she did so. It would be so easy, and it would only take a few seconds…

Helen shook herself. There was a reason she and Bob didn't use magic anymore, that they'd been living as Muggles for the last fourteen years. She opened the dishwasher and started loading it, berating herself for even thinking of using magic, even while Bob was busy and Violet was away at school. She'd been on edge ever since that incident at the World Cup, when she'd practically had to drag Bob away from the commotion, and ever since then she'd been hearing rumors of rumors, whispers of Death Eater activity and strange Muggle deaths all staring after the World Cup. She'd been carrying her wand since then, though she hadn't used it, and she'd been relieved to send Violet to Hogwarts for the year, she knew her daughter would be safe there.

 _We should write to her soon,_ she thought. _Ask how the Triwizard turned out._ The last task was supposed to be tonight, right? Violet had been uncharacteristically excited for weeks, she'd been sending them owls every other day about the champions and the maze in the Quidditch pitch. Helen had balked at that, imagining her old pitch covered in weeds and bushes, but Bob had only laughed before saying he was sure Hagrid would have it smooth and ready for Quidditch again by next season.

Helen scowled as she started washing the dishes that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher. Bob couldn't fly to save his life, of course he couldn't understand that the Quidditch pitch was for _Quidditch,_ not some hairbrained diplomatic-

Helen froze, listening intently. She could have sworn she'd just heard a loud _crack,_ right outside her front door. It was a cat, she told herself. Something had knocked over a trash can, or someone next door had broken a plate. The doorbell rang, and Helen jumped and glanced at the clock. She frowned. It was an odd time for unannounced visitors.

She dried off her hands and instinctively reached for her boot before stopping herself. She took a few deep breaths. "Easy Helen, easy girl," she muttered. "It's just one of the neighbors asking for eggs." She glanced at the clock again. "At 8:30 pm." But she couldn't help herself, she slipped her wand out of her boot and slid it up her sleeve. It didn't hurt to be cautious. She heard Bob coming down the stairs as she unlocked the door and glanced at him before opening it. She threw the door open as quickly as she could, her hand twitching for her wand, before she blinked, stunned.

"Kingsley?" Bob said, sounding as shocked as Helen was. "What are you doing here?"

"Bob, Helen," he said, nodding to them as he stepped in and shut the door behind him. "I don't have much time."

"What's going on?" Helen demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and reassuring herself that her wand was still in her sleeve. Hundreds of scenarios flew through her mind about why a Ministry official, or any wizard for that matter, would turn up on their front door. Her heart constricted, but Hogwarts wouldn't send Kingsley if something had happened to Violet. No one would send them Kingsley on official business. She heard Bob step closer and felt his huge presence looming over her, and he placed an arm around her shoulders. They hadn't seen Kingsley in over a decade, not since they'd been fired from the Ministry and kicked out of the Wizarding world, whatever brought him to them must have been extremely significant.

"The Dark Lord has returned." Helen felt like the air had been snatched from her lungs, she froze and didn't speak as Bob's mouth dropped open and his arm tightened around her.

"But he's dead," he said in a strangled voice and Helen opened her mouth to agree, but Kingsley shook his head.

"Potter saw everything-" For one insane moment, Helen wondered whether he meant Lily or James, before realizing he must have been talking about Harry. "The Dark Lord has got a body again. He killed a student and almost killed Harry, but he escaped and told Dumbledore." Helen felt the blood draining from her face and had an almost uncontrollable urge to stretch, to move, to do something, but she stayed rooted in place.

"Violet-"

"She's all right, she wasn't involved at all," Kingsley reassured them. "But Dumbledore sent me to tell you: the Order's being recalled, and we need you to come back."

"What kind of missions-" Bob started, looking excited.

"We can't use magic," Helen interrupted, her jaw tight. "We're forbidden, the Ministry took our wands-"

"Don't lie to me, Helen," Kingsley said sharply. "I know the wands you handed over were fakes. You were our best operatives before."

"We had connections before," Helen argued. "We were in the Ministry, no one was suspicious-"

"Helen," Kingsley interrupted again. Helen swallowed, trying to think of another argument. "We need you." Helen felt Bob straighten behind her.

"Our kids need us," Helen hissed. "We can't leave them alone here for days at a time-"

"I won't be days at a time, not at first," Kingsley said. "And we're already setting up safehouses, your children could stay there whenever they need to. And as soon as headquarters is secure you can all relocate there, if that's what you'd prefer."

"We can't just disappear, people will know something's up," Bob said. "When is the first meeting?"

"Bob!" Helen stepped away from both of them. "We can't go back to the Order! We were banned, remember? We can't use magic, it's illegal, and the kids-"

"Helen we have to, for the kids!" Bob argued. "You think we should just let You-Know-Who take over?" Helen tensed. She knew what she had to do, had known it from the second she'd seen Kingsley on her porch, she'd only been putting off the realization. But before it had been exciting, a noble fight for the greater good, and now every second she deliberated was putting her kids in danger. If she and Bob joined, their children would be forced into it, too. They'd have to move around, spend days in strange houses while their parents were off on dangerous secret missions, fighting a war they didn't know existed yet. And what if something happened to them? They had friends who would step in, of course, but how long would those friends last on their own missions and assignments? She took a deep breath, hating herself for the decision she knew she had to make.

"Who's based at headquarters?" What other choice was there? Kingsley's normally impassive face twitched into a small smile.

"Sirius." Bob's eyes widened, and Helen felt her walls flying back up and a scream of rage building in her throat before Kingsley hurried to continue. "He's innocent, Helen, he was set up. It was Pettigrew the whole time." Helen pursed her lips, her jaw tight. "Sirius volunteered his mother's house for headquarters, it's our best option. The Weasleys will be moving there soon, too." Helen knew them, they had a daughter Violet's age. They'd taken Violet to Diagon Alley and platform nine-and-three-quarters, before Bob and Helen had been able to get permission to take her themselves.

"You mean Arthur and Molly?" Bob asked, and Helen rolled her eyes, fidgeting and tapping her feet.

"And four of their children," Kingsley answered. Bob and Helen glanced at each other. Bob was practically begging her to say yes, Helen knew he was eager to be part of something important again. She knew her answer, but she couldn't say it. Both options put her family in danger, far more so the answer she'd chosen. But she and Bob would have an active role in protecting their children from what was coming, and in making their world safe again.

She nodded. Kingsley grinned. "I'll be in touch," he said, and vanished with a loud _crack._


End file.
